There’s a lot of news out of Hollywood today, with a focus on limited series across streaming networks.
In the wake of the strikes and due to their popularity with stars and viewers, we expect a lot more limited series as time goes on. The talent they attract promises us the very best of the entertainment world at every level.
But all the news today isn’t by way of a limited series. One of TV’s hottest programs just cast one of its most significant franchise characters.
One of the biggest shows on TV has scooped one of the most respected young actresses of her generation.
Kaitlyn Dever has been cast to play Abby, one of the two playable characters on The Last of Us video franchise and a focal point of the second season.
Dever has starred in her fair share of provocative programming, from Justified to Dopesick, and she’s got the acting chops to stand alongside Pedro Pascal (Joel) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie).
“Our casting process for season two has been identical to season one: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material,” said The Last of Us‘ co-creators, writers, executive producers, and directors Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann in a statement.
“Nothing matters more than talent, and we’re thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro, Bella, and the rest of our family.”
The series recently garnered eight awards for the 2023 Creative Arts Emmys, and we expect it won’t be the last Emmy they’ll receive for The Last of Us Season 1.
Deadline reported that Denis Leary and O-T Fagbenle are joining the cast of the upcoming limited Netflix series No Good Deed, starring Ray Romano and Lisa Kudrow.
No Good Deed is billed as a half-hour dark comedy following a group of people all wishing to buy the same house, a 1920s Spanish-style villa, with the hope that it will turn their lives around.
Apparently, there’s a reason the house is on the market: the sellers’ dream home soon became their nightmare.
Deadline says Leary was tapped to play an intense ex-con named Mickey, who has been driven to extreme measures after an accident scuttled his sobriety and forced him away from his family.
Fagbenle will play an upbeat and anxious man named Dennis. A struggling writer, Denis is looking for a new home for his wife Carla and their baby on the way while he’s caught in the middle of Carla’s less-than-stellar relationship with her overbearing mother.
As if the cast isn’t already incredible enough, Linda Cardinelli, Luke Wilson, Abbi Jacobson, and Poppy Liu will also star in the series. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one.
Today, Netflix dropped the first trailer for its upcoming series 3 Body Problem, based on the acclaimed, international bestselling book trilogy of the same name. “There’s someone behind everything. You just have to dig,” is the ominous tagline.
From multiple Emmy Award-winning creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones), and Emmy-nominated Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy, True Blood), 3 Body Problem, a thrilling story that redefines sci-fi drama with its layered mysteries and genre-bending high stakes.
A young woman’s fateful decision in 1960s China reverberates across space and time to a group of brilliant scientists in the present day.
As the laws of nature unravel before their eyes, a close-knit group of brilliant scientists join forces with an unorthodox detective to confront the greatest threat in humanity’s history.
It’s impossible to imagine what this series will bring, but the trailer is pretty trippy.
Take a look.
Tina Fey is set to return to the small screen as an actor once again in the upcoming Netflix series The Four Seasons.
She and her fellow 30 Rock alumni Lang Fisher and Tracey created the series and will executive produce.
The series is based on the 1981 movie of the same name, which was written by, directed by, and starred Alan Alda and followed three couples that vacation together annually.
Their collective group is thrown into a tailspin when one of the marriages breaks up, and the former husband brings a significantly younger woman along on their trips.
Alda will be a producer on the new series alongside Marissa Bregman, daughter of the film’s producer, Martin Bregman.
David Miner, Eric Gurian, and Jeff Richmond also executive produce.
Deadline reported today that Rosie Perez will be joining Billy Crystal and Judith Light in the limited Apple TV+ series Before.
Before is a limited series in which Crystal plays a child psychologist and recent widower named Eli, who encounters a troubled young boy with a haunting connection to his past.
Light will play his recently departed wife, Lynn, who is called seductively enigmatic.
While Light recently starred in Starz’s Shining Vale about a haunted house, this time around, she’ll be doing the haunting.
Perez has been cast as Denise, a “strong-willed foster mother to Noah,” who is one of Eli’s patients.
In other news, we have a heartbreaking cancellation to report.
While it didn’t have a large audience, those who watched Our Flag Means Death will go down with the ship with word of its cancellation.
Sadly, Max has decided not to continue the show, which was a comical and incredibly loose interpretation of a would-be pirate named Steve Bonnet.
Max shared the following statement with major outlets.
“While Max will not be moving forward with a third season of Our Flag Means Death, we are so proud of the joyous, hilarious, and heartfelt stories that creator David Jenkins, Taika Waititi, Rhys Darby, Garrett Basch, Dan Halsted, Adam Stein, Antoine Douaihy, and the entire superb cast and crew brought to life.
“We also thank the dedicated fans who embraced these stories and built a gorgeous, inclusive community surrounding the show.”
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.